ISRAEL: Sea turtle released back to sea after one of a kind fin-saving operation

Record ID: 396992

  • Title: ISRAEL: Sea turtle released back to sea after one of a kind fin-saving operation
  • Date: 30th December 2009
  • Summary: BET YANAI BEACH, ISRAEL (DECEMBER 25, 2009) (REUTERS) TCHOMPY CRAWLING TOWARDS SEA TCHOMPY INSIDE SEA WATER VARIOUS OF CHILDREN WAVING GOODBYE TO TCHOMPY TCHOMPY SWIMMING AT SEA
  • Embargoed: 14th January 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Israel
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA8M2VJ3ZPF54TAXC4IFP04JFAM
  • Story Text: Turtles may be slow, but this one had a good excuse for it.
    "Tchompy" (PRON: chom-pee), a loggerhead sea turtle was found high, dry and in deep trouble on an Israeli beach in February 2008.
    After undergoing innovative surgery and almost two years of recovery, he was released back to sea on Friday (December 25).
    Immediately after he was discovered, the turtle was rushed to the Israel Turtle Rescue Center, a division of the country's Nature and Parks Authority. Apparently, he was chewed up after getting entangled in a fishing line which amputated one of his front fins and damaged the other.
    But saving the fin required extraordinary measures. Veterinarians decided to install a metal plate and screws, along with pieces of bone and shell from another part of the turtle's body into Tchompy's appendage. It was the first time this type of surgery had been performed in Israel.
    The operation took place on February 22nd, 2008. During the next 22 months, Tchompy was operated on several times and eventually recovered.
    Yaniv Levy, coordinator of the Sea Turtle Project in Israel, said that the metal plate was recently taken out of Tchompy's fin after its recovery, and that he was in an excellent condition.
    "After almost two years, Thcompy, the loggerhead that had a plate inserted into his fin, was just released now. He was crawling on the beach on a straight line which is showing that he is in excellent situation, ready to the release," Levy said, as Tchompy was released back to sea.
    Excited children who came to watch Tchompy's release encouraged him as he crawled slowly towards the water.
    The surgery to save the turtle's fin was critical. Tchompy is approximately 17 years old, according to Levy. And with an estimated life-span of 70-100 years, Tchompy would have had to spend the rest of his life in captivity if both his front fins were amputated, Levy said.
    But with one front fin, he had a chance to return to his natural habitat in the Mediterranean Sea.
    The Israel Turtle Rescue Center treats approximately 50 sea turtles a year. Levy says most are injured due to encounters with boats, propellors, jet skis, fishing lines, and hooks. About 70 percent of all the turtles rescued are later released.
    The center also runs a green sea turtle propagation project to promote the growth of the green sea turtles in the Mediterranean.
    Both the loggerhead and green sea turtles are on the 2007 Red List of Threatened Species, provided by the International for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Footage contains identifiable children: users must ensure that they comply with local laws and regulations governing the publishing of this material.
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